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Lowrie aims to stay healthy, be a team leader

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HOUSTON -- The challenge this year for shortstop Jed Lowrie will be trying to stay healthy for an entire season, something he’s yet to do in his career. He missed 52 games in the middle of last season following a freak injury to his right ankle and leg in San Francisco, but still posted career-best numbers.

Lowrie has been working out, as he does this time each year, in Tampa, Fla., and plans to report to camp on Feb. 15, which is the day before the first full-squad workout. He said Wednesday his conditioning and previous injury rehabs are helping him recover.

“I feel like I come back from injuries strong,” he said. “That is a good sign of how hard I’ve worked to get through those injuries and prepare myself for the following season.”

Lowrie will be counted on to be one the leaders on a young team, a role he’s willing to embrace.

“I definitely look at it that way,” he said. “Getting to know Carlos [Pena] over the last five years of playing against him in Tampa and getting to know him in the offseason, he seems like he’s a strong leader as well. Hopefully we can provide veteran leadership.

“My personal style, I like to lead by example. I have a strong work ethic and that’s something I think more than anything else, guys can learn from that. I know that’s the way I learned in Boston. We had a few vocal leaders on the team, but I learned from watching guys and how they prepared for the game and handled certain situations.”